I don't want to buy the mauser without knowing I can thread the barrel on. I will just have to save and buy the savage I just more enjoyed the ascetics and uniqueness of the mauser.
ivel_86-
Thank you for posting the links and image of the pre-threaded barrel from McGowen. I had not looked at their website for a few months, and it's helpful to know they have added these options.
Your wanting to build a rifle on a Mauser action is understandable; a number of Mauser-actioned rifles have found their way to my gun safe over the last 35 years. I can also relate to being short of $$. Fortunately, circumstances allowed me to assemble my two 450B bolt rifles without investing a lot of cash.
Here are some further notes you might consider in thinking about installing a McGowen pre-fit on a VZ24.
Putting the barrel on the action may be as simple as screwing the barrel into the receiver and then completing the chambering and headspacing (the barrels will probably be furnished short-chambered).
There may be complications. This is the reason for the note McGowen places on their pre-fit Mauser page:
The Mauser pre-fit barrels are made for the Mauser 48, 96 & 98 actions. They are chambered, crowned and finished. They will require a qualified gunsmith to install and to cut the extractor slot in the barrel.Here's a link to reasonably good video that describes the process of rebarreling a Mauser:
Youtube: Rebarreling a Yugoslav M48A Mauser in .308Your project will differ from the one in the video because you will not have to cut threads on the barrel, and you won't have to rough-ream the chamber. However, you will likely have to prep the receiver as demonstrated in the video, squaring the front face of the receiver, and also the inner ring against which the rear face of the barrel fits. (About 3:13 into the video.)
About 15 minutes into the video is the beginning of the important process of making the rear face and shoulder of the barrel mate against the inner receiver ring and the front face of the receiver. If you're lucky, the barrel you get from McGowen may mate perfectly with your squared receiver. If you're not lucky, then you may need access to a lathe to fit the barrel properly.
(The barrel used in the video had a muzzle brake, so the gunsmith had to be concerned about aligning the top of the receiver and the top of his barrel. The pre-fit McGowen barrel will probably not have a top.)
There is an argument to be made for not worrying about the barrel shoulder touching the receiver front face. It's more than just a cosmetic concern, however, because a gap between barrel shoulder and receiver face may allow accumulation of crud and moisture. Here's a forum blurb about this:
EASY Mauser barrel installation.....That post mentions the "safety breech", which pertains to some models of the 98 Mauser. Usually the VZ24 is included in lists of Mausers that include the safety breech, so you'll have to decide whether the VZ24 you're looking at has such a breech. If it does, then the McGowen warning about cutting an extractor groove may apply.
Keep us informed here of what you decide and the positive and negative results of your decision.
Good luck.
--Bob